Boise State Travels to Fresno State

THE SCHEDULE

Boise State (19-20, 10-8 MW) at Fresno State (31-9, 15-3 MW)
Fresno, Calif. (Maggie Wright Diamond)

Saturday, May 8

GAME 40: Broncos at Bulldogs | 2 p.m. MT | Live Scoring | MW Network
GAME 41: Broncos at Bulldogs | 4:30 p.m. MT | Live Scoring | MW Network

Sunday, May 9

GAME 42: Broncos at Bulldogs | 1 p.m. MT | Live Scoring | MW Network

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THIS WEEK FOR THE BRONCOS

WHAT IS NEXT: Boise State (19-20, 10-8 MW) are on the road for the last time this season as they travel to Fresno, Calif., to take on the league leading Fresno State Bulldogs (31-9, 15-3 MW). The action starts with a doubleheader on Saturday beginning at 2 p.m. (Mountain) followed by a single game on Sunday at 1 p.m. (MT).

BOISE STATE VERSUS FRESNO STATE: The Broncos and Bulldogs have met 34 times previously with Fresno State holding a 25-9 advantage in the series and a 21-14 lead in conference encounters dating back to the Western Athletic Conference (2009). The Bulldogs also lead the series in games played at Fresno by a 14-2 margin.

FOLLOW THE ACTION: The entire series versus Fresno State will feature both a live stream via the Mountain West Network and live scoring. Fans who cannot attend this weekend can find all the links to follow the action by going to the softball schedule on BroncoSports.com and clicking on the appropriate link(s) or using the links listed above.

SCOUTING BOISE STATE: Boise State enters the week at 19-20 overall and 10-8 in MW play. The Broncos are coming off a 1-2 weekend at home where they beat Colorado State 4-3 (8) in the opener, then loss 5-1 and 10-2. As a team, Boise State hits .260 (MW 6th), has an ERA of 3.50 (MW 4th) and fielding percentage of .974 (MW 2nd / NCAA 23rd).

The Broncos return seven position starters and two pitchers from the 2020 campaign that saw the Broncos go 14-11. In addition, they welcomed back 13 veterans while adding two transfers and eight freshmen. Among the returners are two All-Mountain West honorees in Karlee Johnson and Alison Seng. This year's Boise State team was picked to place fourth out of nine teams in the 2021 league race.

SCOUTING FRESNO STATE: The Bulldogs enter the week at 31-9 overall and 15-3 in league play, they are receiving votes in both major polls. They are coming off a 1-2 week at Las Vegas where they lost to the second-place UNLV Rebels 6-5 and 9-1 (5), then won 5-1 in the series finale. As a team the Bulldogs hit .297 (MW 1st), have a team ERA of 2.14 (MW 1st) and a team fielding percentage of .969 (MW 4th). Fresno State was picked to win the league race in the Preseason Mountain West Coaches Poll.

ABOUT THE BRONCOS

HEAD COACH HUFFAKER: Boise State is in its third season under the guidance of Maggie Huffaker who has recorded a 69-47 overall record with the Broncos. Some of Huffaker's accomplishments at Boise State include: one NCAA Regional appearance and one NCAA regional championship appearance; two winning seasons; student-athletes have earned three NFCA All-Region honors and eight All-MW accolades. Academically, her team has earned one NFCA Academic Team Award, nine NFCA All-America Scholar-Athlete accolades, 29 Academic All-MW and 20 MW Scholar-Athlete (3.5 or better cumulative GPA) honors.

OFFENSIVE LEADERS: Ashlyn Adams is hitting a team-high .370 (MW 3rd) with a league-high 47 hits, 21 runs and 12 RBI. Bella Rocco is hitting .327 with 13 runs, 35 hits and 23 RBI. Kelsey Lalor is hitting .270 with 34 hits, 24 runs, eight home runs (MW t-6th) and 19 RBI. Jordyn Hutchins is also hitting .270 with 18 runs, 27 hits, six home runs and team-high 28 RBI (MW t-7th).

PITCHING LEADERS: Hannah Bailey leads the pitching staff with a 2.07 ERA (MW 2nd)and 53 strikeouts (MW 9th). Sara Johnson has a 2.92 ERA (MW 7th) and a team-high 88 strikeouts (MW 5th). Freshman Taylor Caudill's ERA is 3.98 (MW 14th) with 73 strikeouts (MW 6th). On the year, all three are ranked in the top-10 in the league for lowest opponent batting average: Bailey is fifth (.231), Caudill is sixth (.241) and Johnson is 10th (.260).

MULTIPLE HITS: Ashlyn Adams leads the Broncos with 16 multiple-hit games this season, followed by Kelsey Lalor with 10 and Alison Seng with nine.

HITTING STREAKS: Bella Rocco has the longest active hitting streak for consecutive games at four. Ashlyn Adams, Bella Rocco and Kelsey Lalor have the longest streak this season at seven.

ACTIVE REACHED BASE STREAKS: Ashlyn Adams and Bella Rocco have the longest active reached base streaks going at four games each. Ashlyn Adams has the longest streak overall on the season at 15.

LALOR AND TRIPLES: Kelsey Lalor tied the school record for triples in a game with two at San Jose State on April 11. She is currently in a five-way tie for second-most triples in a season with four, one shy of tying Ashlyn Adams record of five set in 2019.

ADAMS STEALS SECOND: Bronco senior Ashlyn Adams tallied three steals in the first game of the BYU doubleheader on March 26, tying for the second most in a game in program history.

STRIKEOUTS: Boise State's pitching has kept the Broncos in most games to date, including two outstanding performances earlier this season. On March 27 versus Southern Utah, Taylor Caudill recorded a team-season-high 12 strikeouts, tying for fifth most in school history. Three weeks earlier on March 6, Sara Johnson struck out 11 batters against Portland State tying for seventh most all-time.

HAYES SETS SCHOOL PUTOUT RECORD: Boise State freshman catcher Hailey Hayes set the school record for putouts in a game on March 6 against Portland State in Eugene, Ore. Powered by 16 strikeouts by the pitchers, Hayes recorded 17 putouts behind the plate to set the new record.

THE SCHEDULE

THIS WEEK FOR THE BRONCOS

ABOUT THE BRONCOS

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Players Mentioned

Ashlyn Adams

Hannah Bailey

Taylor Caudill

Hailey Hayes

Jordyn Hutchins

Karlee Johnson

Sara Johnson

Kelsey Lalor

Bella Rocco

Alison Seng